Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page

The page combines painting and calligraphy; the ink is a deep black, applied with a brush to produce flowing curves and loops that occupy nearly the entire surface. The thin red border, likely added with pigment, frames the text and provides a visual counterpoint to the dense script.

Created for Prince Salim, the manuscript was produced in a courtly workshop where calligraphic precision was prized. The page has survived through centuries, its paper darkening and developing brown spots, and it now resides in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

*Tales of a Parrot* belongs to a tradition of Persian narrative literature that blended poetry and prose for elite audiences. Such manuscripts were often richly illustrated, though this particular leaf emphasizes textual content over decorative imagery, highlighting the value placed on literary patronage.

The page exemplifies the high level of calligraphic artistry achieved in Persian court manuscripts and serves as a reference for scholars studying the transmission of literary works to princely patrons in the early modern period.